33 Years of Life 🌻
I turned 33 on June 18, 2025.
And it’s July now. The candles have long been blown, the greetings slowly faded from my timeline, and the whirlwind of celebrations has quieted. And yet here I am, still sitting with it all, still savoring the aftertaste of a birthday month that surprised me with more than just love.
It gave me clarity.
I’ve had birthdays pass me by with noise, with silence, with busy schedules, with barely a flicker of celebration. But this year, something was different. It wasn’t louder. It wasn’t grander.
It was warmer.
My 33rd birthday felt different. Not because of how grand it was, but because of how grounded I felt. And it made me ask myself: What changed?
The answer was simple, but sacred: I found my way back to God.
For years, I had been building things… businesses, systems, relationships, entire worlds. I poured myself into expansion, poured myself out for dreams. But somewhere between the pursuit of growth and the weight of survival, I began to quietly drift. Science tried to replace faith. Hustle tried to outpace surrender. My prayers became strategic plans. My Sundays became catch-up days.
I didn’t realize I was slowly starving my soul.
Then came the unraveling… and the rebuilding.
This past year, everything shifted.
My father passed away (exactly ten days before my 32nd birthday), and I held his hand as he crossed over. That moment broke me, but it also cracked something open in me. I began to hear God again—not through thunder or fire, but through the stillness.
The following year, on the same day we civilly tied the knot, I married the same man again; of course my amazing, loving husband, JD. But this time, in God’s house. With His sacred blessing, I learned that marriage isn’t just love and laughter. It’s work. It’s growth. It’s transformation, with God at the center.
Together, we found family not just in relatives, but in faith. Through Couples for Christ, I sang again. I served again. I was given the chance to help others start their journey toward healing and reconnection. What a humbling privilege.
I also said yes again to my purpose.
I mentored again. Happily, gratefully, humbly. At the 1st Filippinovation Awards, I witnessed young, bold, timeless dreamers turn ideas into impact. One of my mentees even made it to the nationals. On my birthday. What a divine reminder that God celebrates us not just through gifts, but through the people He sends our way.
And slowly, things began to fall into place. Not all at once. Some things are still works in progress, still unfolding. But I’ve learned that it’s okay. What matters is they are falling into place—and I’m no longer doing it alone.
I’m building again. Dreaming again. This time, not apart from God, but with Him at the center.
To everyone who remembered my birthday, who took time out of their busy lives to send love, thank you from the bottom of my heart. I tried to respond, but Facebook thought I was spamming gratitude. So here I am, writing this novel and gratitude and remembrance you with all my heart. Please know that your kindness did not go unnoticed.
This road to 33 wasn’t easy. It was layered with grief, growth, surrender, and rebirth. But it was also sacred.
And today, as I cap off my 33rd birth month, I do so with a quiet kind of joy—the kind that lingers long after the candles are gone.
Here’s to 33.
To returning. To rebuilding. To re-centering in God.
And to never forgetting that grace is not earned, it’s received—over and over again.
Thank You, Lord.
For every breaking, every blessing, and every beautiful becoming.
P.S. This post was supposed to mark the 1st day of my 34th year had it been posted on June 19th. Haha. But oh well, cheers to the 16th day of my 34th year on earth instead!